Matt Barnes Doesn’t Like the Clippers’ Post-Dunk Celebrations

Let’s just say that Lakers’ forward Matt Barnes isn’t buying into the Lob City hype, sounding salty when discussing the Clippers’ actions after throwing down dunks on people’s heads. From the LA Times: “It’s a preseason game,’ Barnes said after Thursday’s practice at the Lakers’ facility in El Segundo. ‘Yeah, they’re catching lobs and dunking. But it’s just a preseason game. Let’s just play basketball. If you make a dunk, act like you’ve done it before. He’s got hundreds of them. There’s no need for the hoorah after every single dunk. It’s unnecessary.’ Lakers forward Pau Gasol made similar claims after the game Wednesday, accusing the Clippers of flopping. Gasol refused to name anyone personally. But after seeing Griffin fall after his initial push and an offensive foul late in the game, Barnes didn’t mince words. ‘One of the best athletes I’ve ever seen,’ Barnes said of Griffin. ‘But all the flopping is unnecessary. That’s the way he plays and it works. They called it so you can’t be mad at him for it.’ In fact, the Lakers appeared very mad because of it. Gasol, Barnes and Josh McRoberts often played with Griffin contentiously any time he touched the ball. Last season, Griffin irked Lamar Odom because he physically fought for a rebound in the waning seconds of a blowout game […] ‘I don’t think they were necessarily rubbing it in,’ Barnes said of the Clippers. ‘I just think they’re excited about their season, which they should be. They got a very taleneted team. But just play basketball.'”